


Dollhouse

by DollBlood



Series: Hidden Places Universe [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bad Parents, Because I am not Native and dont get to write about native culture, Body Horror, Cannibalism, Christopher is Cree and albino, Drinking, Drug Abuse, Gen, Magic Creatures, Melanie is Cree and African American, Painful transformations, Switched Wend!go to Feaster, Unreliable Narrator, im getting better at representing people, main characters are Algonquin, references to mistreatment of natives, sorry for before, the dads have a very unhealthy relationship, this is mostly gore tied up with a terrible case of childhood innocence, you learn new things everyday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-22 19:26:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11974101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DollBlood/pseuds/DollBlood
Summary: Melanie didn't know that what her dads did was wrong. She didn't understand that they had used their privilege to rip her from a family she would never get to know, and she certainly didn't understand that what they ate was a curse. She still doesn't understand; She's only ten.Christopher knew his family. His real family. They took him from them when he was young, but not young enough. He knew what they were doing was wrong, so he fought the best he could while following the rules these white men forced on him. He could get away soon, but his adopted sister didn't know the danger she was in. He could save her, he could at least try. Not for him, he knew it was too late for him the moment he was drugged. But he could try to save her.Or, at least, that's what he thought.





	1. Dollhouse

**Author's Note:**

> This is the opening to my original work, Hidden Places. it doesn't revolve around Christopher and Melanie, but instead on the daily lives of the creatures that live in a very strange town. Which, yeah, includes them, but its them along with 40+ characters. Everyone always wonders how I keep track of them all. I have no answers for them.
> 
> the first chapter has a very unreliable narrator cause a ten year old doesn't really understand the world yet, especially if said 10 year old is the over-protected daughter of two rich serial killers.
> 
> These two characters also started out as Hannibal ocs, and the start of their story may show that. I changed all the names, but if you have seen the NBC Hannibal series you could probably piece together who is who.

Melanie Day was the adopted daughter of Verner and Nev Day. She was ten years old, with a seventeen year old brother named Christopher, and she recently discovered evidence that her family was not like any of the families of other kids she knew. She voiced her concerns to her fathers, but they tried to redirect her attention to her dolls or stuffed animals. No one ever answered her questions, so she eventually stopped asking, but she watched from the sidelines as her fathers did things the other kid's parents never did.

* * *

"Dad." Melanie stood by the bed that Verner was sleeping in. She rubbed her hands together nervously as he slowly woke up. He was always sleeping late in the morning lately, and she often heard him in the kitchen late at night.

"Melanie, what's wrong?"

"Daddy's with a strange woman downstairs."

"Is it Georgina?"

"No, I don't know her she has puffy hair like mine but it's red."

His eyes widened and then narrowed as he sat up and walked out of the room. Melanie followed and watched him talk with Nev and the woman from the stairwell.

She could see Christopher in the next room over, sitting at the table with a cup of tea. he was giggling quietly to himself as he stared at the wall. He started acting strange like that a few months earlier, and he said it was the tea, but when Melanie asked if she could have some, he got angry and told her to go play with her dolls.

"Melanie, come meet our guest."

"Yes dad." she said, jumping up and skipping down the stairs. The woman seemed annoyed that Verner was there, so Melanie shyly hid behind Nev when she got off the stairs. He ran his hands through her hair as he introduced her.

"Carmine, this is Melanie. Melanie, this is an old... friend." he didn't seem very friendly with her, if the face he made was any sign.

Carmine crouched down so she was at eye level with her, and she smiled.

"Well aren't you a pretty little girl. I like your hair."

"I don't like red hair, but I like the style you have it in. It's pretty."

Nev called Christopher in and there was a crash in the kitchen where he had been, and then he walked out, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry, you startled me. Fell out of my chair." he stopped when he saw Carmine, and smiled. "I didn't realize we had a guest, who might you be?" he walked forward and shook her hand as she introduced herself.

"Carmine Chrysler. reporter. I wanted to get a picture for an article I'm writing on Nev."

"Daddy's gonna be in the paper?" Melanie asked as he picked her up and let her run her hands through his curly hair.

"Well, almost. It's a paper online, but pretty much."

"Is daddy gonna get famous?"

"He already is, kind of. I wanted to get a picture of all of you, together."

"Am  _ I  _ gonna get famous?"

"Maybe," she said, chuckling.

Carmine had the family line up together, with Melanie in Nev's arms, and Christopher between his fathers. They smiled for the camera as Carmine took a few shots, and then said her goodbyes and left.

* * *

 

Later that night, Melanie could hear movement downstairs, so she got up and crept to the stairs to look around. There was movement in the kitchen, so she peeked around the corner and saw Verner chopping something. He looked up and saw her, and frowned. When she saw his confused look, Melanie stepped out from the corner and rubbed her eyes.

"Melanie? are you okay?" he asked, throwing a hand towel over his shoulder and moving around the table.

"I heard a noise down here and was wondering who it was so I came down. what are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to do some late night cooking."

"Can I help?"

He looked over his shoulder at what he had been chopping, then turned back to his daughter.

"How about I put you back to bed instead. I don't want you sleep deprived, your daddy will get upset with me."

Melanie giggled and let her dad take her back upstairs, but not before she caught a glimpse of the severed human leg on the cutting board.

* * *

A few days later, after Melanie got home from school, she walked in on Nev drinking some sort of whiskey, straight from the bottle. When he saw her, he quickly put the bottle away and wiped his mouth with an awkward grin.

"Melanie, I didn't realize you were home."

"Why do you drink that stuff? it's icky." she said, barely able to peek over his desk. he smiled at her and ruffled her hair.

"It doesn't taste good at first, but when you're an adult it starts to taste better."

"I don't wanna get older, I don't wanna have to drink that stuff."

"You don't have to, I don't usually. I just sometimes drink it cause it helps me forget nightmares." he walked around his desk and picked her up, then leaned against the desk as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I think cookies and milk are better at scaring nightmares away than that gross stuff."

"You're probably right, maybe we should make some the next time we have bad dreams."

"I bet dad could help, cause he likes to cook at night too."

Nev’s smile dropped when she mentioned her other father, and he put her back down.

"Why don't you go play with your dolls?"

As she left his office, she looked back and saw him drinking the whiskey again.

* * *

"Melanie, we are having a dinner party with some friends from work tonight." Verner said from her doorway. she looked up from her toys and smiled up at him.

"Did you get me a new dress to wear?"

"Yes, would you like to try it on?"

She nodded and skipped up to him as he pulled a box from behind his back. she took the dress box and put it on her bed, then opened it and squeaked with joy.

"It's so pretty dad!" she jumped up and down as he pulled out the frilly lavender and white dress.

She took off her clothes and let him get the dress over her head, then zip it and tie a ribbon around the middle. She spun around while giggling as she got used to it, and only stopped when Verner held out a big purple and black polka-dotted bow for her to clip into her hair. When she was sure the clip wouldn't fall out of her curly hair, she raced downstairs to show off the dress to Nev. He laughed when she spun around to make him look at the whole dress, and she beamed when her father’s coworkers finally arrived to have dinner a few hours later. they told her she looked like a princess.

At dinner, Verner sat at the head of the table with Nev and a man named Riley on his sides. Christopher sat next to Nev, and Georgina sat next to Riley, and Melanie sat on the other side of Georgina after some very careful thought.

Christopher was drinking his tea again, and Nev glared at Verner when he saw him drinking it. Melanie figured he was jealous that Christopher was the only one who got it.

The dinner was good, just as any other meal her dad made. the adults talked about things that she didn't understand, and whenever she asked a question, Christopher softly kicked her under the table and glared at her.

* * *

 

When Riley and Georgina left, and Melanie went upstairs, Nev and Verner went to clean up in the kitchen. Christopher came to her room, and sat on her bed as she put her dolls back into their house.

"Don't talk about what we eat to other people."

"Huh?"

"It's dangerous. don't let dad know you have ever talked about it. we don't eat normal things."

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Nevermind."

"Why do we eat dangerous things?"

He sighed. "well, it's not that it's dangerous to eat. it's what people will think of you once they know. like, what would you say if I decided to start eating bunnies?"

She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. "No Christopher, don't do it..." she whispered, making him laugh.

"I'm not gonna. but you changed your opinion of me, right?" she nodded. "don't mention our food to other people."

She nodded again and he left so she could go back to putting her dolls to bed.

* * *

At school the next day, Melanie showed off her new dress, since she hadn't worn it too much the day before. the boys rolled their eyes and looked bored, and the other girls snickered. she ended up just sitting down shyly next to her friend, Jamie.

She liked Jamie a lot, because sometimes they were a boy, and sometimes they were a girl. their parents were very nice too, and Jamie even liked her dresses when they were a boy too! today they were a boy and they smiled at Melanie reassuringly when she sat down.

"I like your dress, Meli, I think it's really really cute! did you have another dinner thingy last night?"

"Uh-huh!" she quieted for a minute when the teacher shushed them, but continued in a whisper a moment later, "Dad got it for me, and Georgina said I look like a princess!"

Jamie smiled and leaned against her for the rest of class until recess.

When they were on the playground, Jamie had insisted that she were to go to the top of a tall slide no one was using, and they were suddenly a knight trying to get into a tower to save the princess Melanie. She laughed with them as they tried to climb up the slide, then eventually got tired and just clambered up the steep stairs and sat down next to her.

"I got something for us." they said, reaching into their cargo shorts pocket. they pulled a big chocolate bar out and grinned at her wide eyes.

"Really? You wanna share with me?"

"Really really."

Melanie smiled and Jamie unwrapped the candy then broke it in half and handed her the slightly larger piece.

They both ate most of the chocolate in comfortable silence, until some big kids kicked them off of the slide. they grumbled, but eventually found a nice shrub to hide under, and by then they were done with their candy, and they played imagination games until the bell rang.

* * *

At lunch, Melanie's good mood was dampened when she found the leftovers from last night's meal, and she remembered her brother's warning. She didn't understand what was wrong with what they ate, she saw other kids eating sausage and fish and burgers, and nobody had a problem with it. when Jamie noticed her distressed look, they held her hand and smiled, and Melanie realized that Christopher was probably being a weird teenager again. Sometimes he had funny fits, and said silly things, so that must've been one of those things.

* * *

That night, after Christopher had done his homework and the chores were done, Melanie followed her brother into the kitchen.

"Melanie, why don't you go play and stop bothering me?" he sighed, and Melanie huffed.

"I'm tired of big people telling me to go play with my dolls, why can't I be a part of things?"

"Because those things are boring adult stuff."

"But you're a Kid too."

"I... well..." he scratched his head, "I'm almost adult, so they let me learn what they sometimes talk about. but I'm not allowed at all the talks either. like the one going on right now." he sighed and opened the fridge, where the ingredients for his tea were. "I actually miss being a little kid like you. I mean... I'm gonna be a legal adult in a few weeks, and I don't know if I can handle that pressure."

"It's okay, Christopher, I'll be here for you." she smiled up at him, and he stared at her for a few beats before he smiled softly and nodded.

"Yeah. I know I can trust you. you are a sweetheart."

* * *

If you had asked her when she was an adult about what happened the next few weeks, Melanie would have called her brother the bravest idiot she had ever known. but as such a young girl, she didn't really understand anything that was happening, try as she might. That is, if she ever got to reach adulthood.

As it turned out, Christopher had been planning this for a long, long time.

About a week after that dinner party, Christopher came to Melanie's room after their parents had gone to sleep.

He gently woke her up and kneeled next to her bed.

"Christopher? what are you doing here?" she murmured sleepily.

"I need to get you away from our parents."

"Huh?"

"I heard them talking, a few weeks ago, Dad said he wanted to start giving you the tea. I can't let that happen."

"What's wrong with the tea? you drink it!"

"Because I can't stop anymore. I don't want it, but I need it. you are starting to ask questions, and Dad doesn't like it. he wants you to just forget about everything you see. It’s bad enough they ripped us from our homes on the Rez as children, but now they want to drug you like they have done to me."

Melanie looked up at her brother in shock. it had been a long time since he had looked at her in concerned brotherly way. maybe he wasn't just trying to scare her.

"B-but where would I go? why?"

He sighed and moved so he was sitting on her bed.

"Remember what I said a while ago, about not talking about what we eat?"

She nodded.

"Do you know what we eat?"

"Food? I... what normal people eat, right?"

"No, Melanie..." he sighed, "we eat other people. our dads are cannibals."

Melanie just blinked up at him in confusion, forcing him to continue his explanation.

"They kill other people and then cook them and eat them. They feed us people."

"Is that not normal?" she whispered, and Christopher looked at her in surprise.

"You... you knew? and..."

She nodded as she said, "A while ago I came downstairs at night and saw dad in the kitchen. He was cutting up a person's leg."

"You didn't think it was strange?"

"I figured that's where old people and bad people go when they die." she muttered even quieter.

Christopher looked at her in shock before letting out a soft chuckle.

"I still don't want you to start drinking the mushroom tea. I'm getting you out of here whether you're fine with cannibalism or not."

Melanie nodded again and swung her legs over the edge of her bed, then looked up at her brother.

"What are we doing then?"

"Our dads won't be happy with us, they'll both track is down, so we have to take them out of the picture. or... I do. you stay here while I deal with it."

She nodded and wandered to her closet and took out a small suitcase. When she noticed him watching her with his eyebrows raised, she started to explain, "I should pack something, right?"

He smiled, nodded, and left the room.

* * *

Melanie packed her favorite dresses, a toothbrush, and a few of her dolls into her small suitcase, and waited for her brother to return, but he didn’t. She waited for about fifteen minutes, but he didn’t come back to her room, so she went to look for him herself. suitcase in tow, she crept towards their parent’s room.

There was a loud crash from inside the dark room, and she took a step back before calming her heart and opening the door enough for her to see inside.

Christopher was holding a butcher's knife in front of him, and he was covered in blood. Verner was draped over the bed with his neck and chest cavity torn apart, and Nev was backed against the far wall, facing her brother. Melanie took in the scene with curiosity and confusion. why was this the way Christopher had to go about escaping?

She opened the door a little bit more, and Nev caught sight of her.

“Melanie, get out of here!” he shouted, and Christopher lunged when he was distracted. Nev watched as she stepped into the room fully and did nothing to save him. instead, she sat on the blood-stained bed and watched as her brother plunged the knife into his throat.

Nev collapsed to the floor and gasped painfully as blood flowed freely out of his neck. he clutched at the air for nothing in particular as Christopher’s knife came down again on his sternum and chest, just as he had done to Verner while he slept.

Melanie came up to stand next to her brother as Nev took his final breaths. She tugged on his shirt, and looked up at him calmly.

“Can we leave now?” she asked quietly.

“I need to do one more thing. i need some of your blood to scatter around your room so the police will think we were kidnapped.” he led her to his room and got a needle from his dresser, and kneeled down in front of her. he gently tied a piece of cloth around her upper arm snugly. “this is gonna hurt a little bit.”

She nodded as he found a vein and pushed the needle into it. she cringed when he began drawing blood, but it was over quick enough, and soon he was putting a princess band-aid on the puncture wound. he stood up and patted her head.

“You go down to the front room, I’ll meet you there, I promise.”

Melanie nodded and took her suitcase with her down the stairs to sit on one of the leather couches.

Christopher soon came down with a backpack and a small cooler, and they left in the night with no one noticing.

Their parent’s bodies were found two days later, and they were put on the missing people list, but were not found where one would expect.


	2. The Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christopher doesn't have any clue how to live on his own. He thought he does, but things go down hill very, very quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vibes for this chapter:  
> [This song sounds kinda happy but it really isn't](https://youtu.be/Izz9HhzPW0M)

Christopher had brought money he had saved up, but he miscalculated. the bus into the next state over was an easy payment, but the motel they found was more than they could afford for a month, plus groceries. coming from the prestigious family that was the Days, seemed to have twisted his view on money and taxes.

But money wasn’t the main thing he was worried about. he had brought a few human organs with them, just in case Melanie’s body didn’t adjust to normal meat right away, but her outright refusal of eating animal meat took him by surprise. she said it tasted like poison in her stomach, and Christopher knew it was already too late for her eating habits.

Christopher had been eating the school lunches in secret for as long as he could remember, so his body wouldn’t become reliant on human meat, but Melanie thought eating human was  _ normal.  _ she only ate what their fathers gave her, and never considered it being dangerous.

Now she couldn’t ingest pork, beef, chicken, or any other meat he tried to give her. not even the yak meat the Tibetan restaurant down the street made her stomach happy, and Christopher thought the texture was a lot like a human muscle.

He hated to admit it, but he was starting to miss his father’s cooking as well.

* * *

By the end of the third week in the Motel 8 in the city of Northby, West Virginia, Christopher was down to his last few hundred dollars, and Melanie was still not eating animal meat. she had eaten all of the human he had brought with them, and for the last five days, nuts and eggs were her only source of protein. her health was slowly deteriorating. he knew, but he didn’t quite know how he knew. it was like he could smell it on her. but she never complained, unless she ate animal meat, which now caused her terrible stomach aches and migraines.

He needed a change. he needed  _ to _ change, for the good of his sister. he wasn’t excited for this plan, if he could call it that, but they were basically out of money, and they would need a new place to live that didn't cost as much soon.

* * *

Change came sooner than he expected. It wasn't the type of change that he was thinking of, either.

It happened their third night in a cheaper motel, when he suddenly got a terrible ache in his stomach. He sat up in bed, causing Melanie to wake up with a start as well. It was when his eyes adjusted to the dark that the real pain began. A sharp pain shot through his head as it felt like nails were being struck through his skull from the inside out. He curled in on himself and clutched at his head, but it didn't help. Melanie was next to him, rubbing circles in his back, and trying to calm him down, but it wasn't working.

He clenched his teeth to try to stop from crying out, but when he did there was a dull crunch sound. His hands moved from his head to his mouth, and when he pulled them away, they were covered in blood, with tooth shards in his palms. Melanie gasped and moved so she was in front of him, and forced his mouth open.

"Christopher..." She whispered, as she put a finger in his mouth to feel the broken teeth. When she pushed one of his front teeth, it fell out onto his tongue. "What's going on?" She looked up at him with worried eyes as another one of his teeth fell out on its own.

"I don't know..." He whispered back, slightly muffled from the teeth and blood in his mouth. He got up and went to the bathroom, and Melanie followed.

Ignoring the throbbing in his head as best he could, he swished some water around his mouth and spit into the sink. More blood and teeth came out with the water.

"Are you sick?" Melanie asked quietly as she looked at the teeth.

"I... I dun fink foe?" He said, but at this point he couldn't say no for sure.

He washed out his mouth a few more times, leaving only his molars and wisdom teeth, then sat on the toilet seat dejectedly. Melanie sat on the edge of the grimy bathtub. At least it seemed like his mouth had stopped bleeding, but his headache hadn't let up.

"Are you going to die?" His sister asked. She was trying to look him in the eye, but he wouldn't look at her for more than a few seconds.

"I dun know, I heel 'errible."

"Can I do anything?"

He started to shake his head, but stopped and thought, then looked at her for the first time since they came into the bathroom.

"In my bag, fears a boddle, I dook from dad. Be...brig id do me." She nodded and left to find the vodka.

As soon as she left, another jolt of pain went through his mouth, and he leapt up to look in the mirror. His gums were bulging, and specks of white were poking through. With a sudden sharp pain, his mouth was full of blood again, and there were brand new teeth - all pointed and sharp like a shark or wolf. He rinsed the blood from his mouth again, and stared at the new razors in his mouth. Melanie came back and put the vodka bottle on the counter, then saw his new teeth as well. She stared for a long time, then reached up at him.

"Can I touch them?" She whispered, and he knelt down so she could touch one of his new canines.

"You're like a doggy now." She said with a giggle, which made him smile.

“its weird.” he replied, running his tongue over the points. “its not humanly possible to grow teeth that fast, or have them be this sharp.”

“well maybe you’re becoming a fairy!”

“I thought fairies were supposed to be small cute people with wings?”

“There are a lot of kinds of fairies, Christopher, and some have sharp teeth and horns and trap people in the woods instead of being cute and fluttery.” she shifted back and forth on her feet, then looked up at him again. “you’re not gonna trap me are you?”

He smiled and rustled her hair. “no, Mel. I don’t want to trap… what is that?”

“what’s what?”

Christopher kneeled down in front of her and ran his hands through her hair again. just as before, he felt two large protrusions coming out of her head on either side. he moved her fluffy hair around, and when he saw the cause of the protrusion, he gasped and jumped back.

“Melanie, how long have those been there?” he asked quickly, and she looked thoughtful.

“what? you mean my horns? they came out a week ago or so ago. They’re cool when I let them out fully.”

“fully? Melanie, what are you-”

he watched as his sister’s hair moved slightly, and two horns emerged from her head; black, and with prongs not unlike blades. His eyes widened and breathed deeply to keep himself from hyperventilating. His headache was back, his teeth were too sharp to be human, and his little sister just grew horns. None of this situation was normal, and he didn't know how to handle it.

Melanie was gently touching her horns and talking adamantly about them.  "I think they are really cool, but they can get in the way of getting dressed, so I make them small."

"Melanie..."

"Don't worry, Christopher," she waved at him flippantly. "It's probably just a girl thing. What was that thing dad talked to you about? Pubety? Yeah, he said girls go through different things."

"Melanie, what other girl have you seen with horns?"

"Umm, I mean, girls are smart, so they all probably keep them small all the time. They can get heavy, you know."

"Melanie, I took anatomy in high school. Humans don't grow horns." He paused and put a hand to his mouth for a moment then added, "Or shark teeth, for that matter."

"Then..."

"We aren't... We aren't human."

"Well, what are we then? Do you think dad and daddy knew?"

"I-" Christopher felt like he was choking on his words. "I don't know. But... I, I can't go out like this." He pointed to his teeth, "it's freakish."

Melanie’s usual smile fell and she took a step back. “th… freakish… then what are we gonna do? if you can’t go out then you can’t get a job, and you get money for food.”

Christopher stood up and went back to the main room, and started shoving their things into the bag they had brought with them. Melanie followed him and silently did the same, but she occasionally gave him confused looks when she felt his eyes on her. each time, he would glance at her horns, then her face, then he would shake his head and go back to packing their few things or cleaning his blood that was staining the bed sheets. his headache had become a dull pounding at the sides of his skull, but he ignored it as they left the room and went to the main office.

Christopher assumed he could play off his unnatural teeth and his sister’s horns as a costume for one night, but no longer than that.

The man at the front desk startled when they walked in, but Christopher was sure to act completely natural as he entered. He was lucky that Melanie was such an observant kid who followed his every move. When he glanced at her discreetly, she had her smile back and was looking at the candy bowl on the counter longingly. Even if candy gave her a bit of a stomach ache, she still loved to eat it.

The desk man’s eyes were wide, but still greeted them when they approached. If he weren’t in such a rush, he would’ve given the guy a 10/10 customer service rating. Christopher leaned against the counter casually and Melanie stood on her toes to see the man. he glanced at her, and she smiled broadly.

“Brother and I are going to a costume party!” she said happily, and the man and Christopher sighed in relief.

“Those are great costumes, did you make them yourselves?”

“everything but the teeth. styrofoam and paint for the horns.”

“And black contacts, i assume?”

Christopher blinked quickly, but smiled and nodded. “ah, yeah. almost forgot i was wearing them.” he glanced at Melanie, and her eyes were still the same. she was staring up at him with a shocked expression, so he assumed something had changed with his eyes.

“Well, i guess you didn't just come in here to show off your get up, what can I help you with? Room trouble?”

“No, actually, tonight is our last night. we are moving. the party is a goodbye party. we just need to return our room keys and pay the rest of the fee.”

“Alright, what was the name?” the man turned to the computer behind the counter and started typing.

“Its under the name Day. or, it should be.”

“Huh. Day? i know that name from somewhere…” the man pulled up their room information as Christopher pulled a wad of money and his room key out of his pocket. “let’s see, you paid most of the stay up front, you stayed for three nights, so that’s ten for each extra day. looks like you owe $130.” the man took the room key, put it into a drawer, and looked back at the computer. “Day… that’s right! it’s been in the news the last two weeks! Dr. Day and his husband were found dead in their home, and their kids were gone! are you-” he turned to them, but stopped himself when he saw they were gone. a wad of cash was left on the counter, and the door was slowly closing behind the two horned figures running into the night. 

The man behind the counter took the money, and counted out $250, and sighed.

“That’s the most excitement I’ll get for the rest of the month.” he muttered as he stuffed the money into the cash register.

* * *

Christopher held Melanie’s hand as they raced down the street. his bag was barely hanging onto his shoulder, and her luggage was wobbling violently behind them as it hit rocks and cracks in the pavement. He hadn’t even realized that they had been on the news. Riley Drek, the police detective who was friends with Nev could easily track them down because of all of the resumes he put out with his last name on them. their situation just got a whole lot worse. if that receptionist called the police…

“Christopher, we’re far away now. i think we can stop now.” Melanie whined while pulling on his hand. he immediately slowed and looked down at his sister. she was breathing heavily and clutching at her chest.

“I’m sorry, Mel.” he said as he stopped and knelt next to her. “I’m sorry. i didn’t know what else to do. he knew us.” Melanie wrapped her arms around his neck and sniffed.

“It’s ok, i’m just a little scared. I’m hungry and scared.”

He nodded and looked over her shoulder at the darkened shop window behind them. when he saw his reflection, he almost stopped breathing. he knew something about his eyes had changed, or the receptionist wouldn’t have had mentioned black contacts. but what stared back at him from the reflection looked almost nothing like him. it had his white hair, and his paper-white complexion, but protruding from it’s head were massive black moose antlers. He wondered how he could have left the motel without them catching on a doorway, but here he was. besides the huge antlers, it’s eyes were now pure black, with deep red slits that almost seemed to glow in the darkness. the canines of his new teeth were suddenly much larger, and stuck out of his mouth, like those of a saber toothed cat, but shorter.

He let go of Melanie and ran his hands over his face and the bases of his new antlers. when he finally looked to his sister, she was looking at him wide-eyed and crying. her eyes were completely black, unlike his, and her tears looked like a dark brown or black oil.

“I’m so hungry, Christopher, I haven’t eaten in a week.”

“B-but you ate just tonight, remember the… the eggs?” he muttered, but he knew that’s not what she meant. he was suddenly feeling hungry too, and not for eggs.

The faint jingle of a bell came from down the street, and they both turned towards the sound. a woman was stepping out of a darkened shop and locking it. Christopher grabbed Melanie and jumped into a dark alley way.

“Christopher?”

“Shush, Mel. I know. I’ll get something for you to eat tonight.” he whispered as he heard the woman’s steps drawing closer. “I have a plan. just… just go with it.” she nodded and watched as he slinked closer to the opening of the alley.

When the woman was visible, he coughed harshly as if he was sick. the woman turned towards him with wide eyes.

“Are you okay? sir?”

“I...I’m fine. But… my sister… she hasnt had enough to eat… i dont suppose you have any food to spare?” he made sure he was mostly in the shadows when the woman looked at him. she seemed to be scrutinizing him, until Melanie let out a series of weak coughs and a whine from her place farther in the alley. both Christopher and the woman looked back and he wondered if the whine was just her acting, or if she was really whining from hunger pains.

“Oh dear, do you have no place to stay?”

“Our home isnt safe tonight… our father…”

“Well, could i see your sister?”

“Y-yeah…” he smirked as he moved closer into the darkness. “I’m sorry theres no light back here, but… i dont want to move her because i dont want to hurt her.”

The woman stepped into the alley with her phone’s flashlight, and Christopher scowled. the light might make the hunt a little more complicated. he  stood straight and backed away as she came closer. her flashlight scanned the area then landed on Melanie, huddled between two boxes. Christopher came up right behind her, and whispered in her ear when she gasped at the sight of Melanie’s horns.

“Yeah, you’ll do quite nicely for us.”

The woman spun around, her light landing on him, and before she could scream, Christopher slapped his hand over her mouth and shoved her onto the ground. She struggled beneath him, but he was far stronger than she was. He would’ve pondered his sudden strength, but his mind was on other things at that point. He bit into her neck to both taste her and to keep her quiet, and blood sprayed across his face and the surrounding area. Melanie came forward and pushed him out of the way. Their victim was still conscious, and was crying as Melanie’s fingernails grew into claws and sliced into her abdomen. 

“Dad always fed us the muscle, huh?” she said as she dug around the woman’s organs.

“He used the organs for special dinners, like with Riley and Georgina. But it’s not gonna taste the same raw, Melanie. don’t get too excited.” Christopher whispered, but it didn’t stop her from ripping the liver out of the woman and sinking her teeth into it.

Christopher was more torn. The woman had passed out, but what they had just done was suddenly sinking in. He had never killed someone. He had never craved to eat human, until now. He tentatively removed the stomach and bit into it, and every doubt he had before melted away. He was sure it would taste better if it were cooked, but the organ was the sweetest thing he had eaten in a long while. He devoured it quickly and grabbed something else from the body.

He glanced at Melanie, and saw she was ripping at the lower part of the right lung. He barely recognized her. But then again, he barely recognized himself. He returned to the organ in his hand and ate it quickly. as delicious as it was, it felt like nothing was really filling his belly. He needed more. he started to bash the ribs in, to help Melanie with the lungs, and to get to the heart. they devoured every organ they could get to, and when they were done, she was just a hollow shell of skin and bones. Her torso was cleaned out, and the meat from her legs and arms was gone. The only spot they couldn’t reach was her brain, because the skull was too hard. they had managed to get some of it after they ate her eyeballs, by reaching through the sockets, but they didn’t want to risk bone shards getting into their meat, so they couldn’t just bash their way in, like how they had with the weaker ribs. 

It was Christopher who finally stood and left. Melanie followed after him quietly. They gathered the things they had dropped, and he led them towards the forest on the edge of the city. It was thick with evergreens and Coniferous trees, and the maps he had glanced at a week before said the woods stretched for miles in either direction. It could make for a perfect hideaway.

As they left the town of Northby, West Virginia, Christopher couldn’t help but wonder if their father would be pleased with what they had become, or disgusted by how they acted.


	3. Both an epilogue and a prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our scared kids find a place for them to fit in... somewhat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> . . .

Living in the woods was not as bad as Christopher assumed it would be. Melanie took a liking to it almost immediately, and the cave they eventually settled in seemed to be straight out of a fairy tale. There were vines covering the entrance, and a meadow nearby full of wildflowers and tall grasses. A stream flowed not far from their cave, and it was far enough into the forest that very few people came near. Those who did, tended to go missing in “bear attacks”. 

Christopher had been right about the meat tasting better cooked, so they came up with a handmade stove system made from super-heated smooth stones from the river. The trouble with it was lighting the fire that heated the stones, so they very rarely put it out. they kept the flames going near the back of the cave, where there was a hole in the ceiling that acted like a ventilation shaft.

They were both happier here than they were anywhere before.

And that’s where they stayed until they found Fauxville.

The city was not around their area when they first got there, but not long after they got settled, the sounds of a bustling city reached their cave. There was no warning, and it seemed to happen over night. So of course, Christopher and Melanie went to check it out.

* * *

Not even one step into the city - a mishmash of architectures from all over the world, all bleeding into each other seamlessly - before they were stopped. A boy with dark red skin, goat legs, and golden curled horns appeared in front of them in a cloud of light pink dust.

“You aren’t welcome here.”

“You have horns! You’re like us!” Melanie said cheerfully while she pointed at him. The boy made a disgusted face.

“I am  _ not  _ like you. I am a son of  _ Pan. _  Do you have any idea what that means, you filthy Feasters?”

“Feasters?” Christopher asked, looking at his dirty hands, “Is that what we turned into?”

“You don't even know?” the boy started laughing before he glared up at Christopher. “I always figured your kind was brainless, but this is just icing on the cake. Now leave.”

“But we just got here!” Melanie complained, and the boy turned his glare down to her.

“You-”

“Malus!”

His floppy ears perked up and he turned towards a black girl coming their way. She had a black tail and cat-like eyes. She didn’t look happy. The boy’s - Malus'- ears drooped lower when he saw how angry she looked.

“Are you turning creatures away?  _ again _ ?”

“But Caitlyn! Feasters!”

They took a few steps away from Christopher and Melanie, and Caitlyn started to whisper to Malus. He tried to whisper back, but it came out as a strained version of his screaming voice.

“We can’t trust them!” he said, and she continued to whisper.

“They betrayed their original race, how do we know they won’t betray us?”

“...”

“But the Witch-”

“Malus you know there is only one witch here, and the Flower Witch does not turn people away. Especially not after the accident. Feasters can stay here, as long as they do their share of protection.” Caitlyn looked up at the siblings, “Will you?”

“What's… what do we need to do?” Christopher asked, but Melanie spoke up before Caitlyn could explain. Her eyes looked blacker, and her grin was sharper than normal.

“You said protection, right? Does that mean our job is eating?”

Caitlyn stared at them, her gaze lingering on Christopher, before she nodded. Melanie laughed and pulled at Christopher’s shirt, and he stared at the ground. His stomach rumbled, and he grimaced, grabbing at his too-thin waist.

“We’ll do it. my name is Christopher, and this is Melanie.”

Caitlyn smiled while Malus huffed behind her. She stepped back and let them step into the city.

“Welcome to Fauxville, Feasters. I will get someone to help you settle in. I certainly hope you find a fulfilling life here.”

They were both too distracted by the city to notice the forest around them change.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're actually reading this? thank you so much! I don't know when I will get around to writing more for this universe, but it is all in my head right now, just floating around. If you wanna pick my brain about the universe or Christopher and Melanie (as there is so much to these characters that won't come up in this particular story) feel free to send me an ask on my tumblr (qu33nbeee.tumblr.com)
> 
> Thanks again!


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